Organic chick starter

[dianer29]

I just used up the 50 lb bag of Organic chick starter that I purhased from MPC and I have,since then went to the local animal supply store to get the 2nd bag of organic chick starter for them . They are 5 weeks old Silkies. I had to look elsewhere rather than pay to once again have it shipped to The Big Island as it was expensive due to distance. The supplier tried to save me money by shipping in 3 pkgs. That is a bit of a pain to handle when distributing it to its galvanized storage container. I t would make sense to order from my local supplier although ,the store has to special order it and the feed gets barged in to the island. I just opened their food for them ,this second bag,different grain supplier and am real concerned about the texture and possibly color of this "brand" food . It is chick starter however it is a different color and it looks like small pellets. The protein is the same 20%,lysine about the same,methionine is 0.54 % compared to first bag which is .3,crude fat more slightly ,phosphorus close, salt min new one 0.30% first bag .4, salt max 0.35 % first bag .6
Previously thru MPC I was advised to do mash with the Silkie Chicks not pellets so I am concerned to say the least.
I make sure that my Silkies have every advantage to assit them in a healthy diet which will only enhance their life span and give them what they need to grow strong. I need guidance from seasoned chick owners that are keeping their chicks as pets and potential egg layers.

 

[dianer29]

Is anyone on line that can help me with my concern,the above post I wrote yesterda?. I gave them some new mixed in small portion of leftover original organic chick starter this morning.I really did not want to to it but they had to be fed.

 

[HEChicken]

What brand is the new bag? Is your concern that there is something wrong with it? You might try posting a pic to see if anyone can see anything wrong with it. If it just looks a little different than you are used to, it might just be a difference in the two brands. The mash may have been recommended because they were too small to eat anything larger but if they are now 5 weeks old, they should be able to handle some larger chunks. Or, you could probably still make it into a mash.

 

[Giammona farm]

Sometimes the organic feed dosn't have enough nutrients to suport what the chick needs and there toes curl up and they die.

 

[SimplyForties]

Quote:
What do you base that on?

 

[rstampa]

MPC charges $50.00 for shipping for a $25.00 bag of feed. You could buy 2 more 50 lb bags of Organic feed if you can find a local co-op in your area.

 

[rstampa]

Quote:
What do you base that on?

SimplyForties, That was my question also. The organic feed I buy is fortified with vitamins and everything else they need. And is a better mix of grain then the leading brands. In which corn is listed as the first ingredient. My organic first listing is pea. Oh! and no soy added either.

Curled toes in my experience caused my interbreeding.

 

[elmo]

Quote:
I haven't heard any anecdotes about this happening with organic feed. However, last month's Backyard Poultry magazine contained the story of birds being raised for a 4-H project and fed with conventional feed that did die from nutritional deficiencies.

I use Countryside Naturals, $50 for a 50 lb bag including shipping. It's fish meal based, no soy. And it includes Fertrell's nutritional supplements.

 

[GardeNerd]

Quote:
If the feed is a different texture, just run it through a blender or burr mixer. It will make it a mash texture. I had to do this when I first started out because my local feed store could only get organic starter/ grower in crumbles. The differences you mention in the nutritional information don't sound too dramatic. I think they'll be fine. Between the two brands I have used, there is a slight difference in the appearance, also.